I was really looking forward to seeing Owen with our friend’s son, Bodi, who is about six weeks younger. I was pretty sure Owen would tower over him and outweigh him (he did, by about 5” an 5#), but beyond that I wasn’t sure what the differences might be. And boy, were they interesting.
While Owen knows his letters, Bodi doesn’t have the first clue. On the other hand, Bodi completely understands commands like “Go put your cup on the shelf” while Owen’s comprehension isn’t quite that advanced. Bodi knows a variety of sounds (animal noises, car noises) but Owen knows some numbers.
Bodi NEVER sits still, has to touch everything (and hand you everything you’ve set down), and has to be strapped in his high chair. Pretty much as long as Owen has toys around, he doesn’t touch things he’s not supposed to and you don’t need to worry about him diving out of his high chair (my friend was amazed when I left Owen just sitting in the booster seat to grab his food from the kitchen, or that I left my expensive camera on the desk within toddler reach)—and he often just sits quietly and sucks his thumb. Owen doesn’t make much noise but Bodi is a big jibber jabberer and shrieker/shouter (something else Owen didn’t like). Bodi’s sleep schedule is about 7p-7a with an hour nap, while Owen’s is about 8p-6:30a with a 2+ hour nap (though they did manage to sleep together in the same room pretty well).
You can tell Bodi has been around other kids (day care) because he doesn’t mind other kids in his space—while Owen kind of freaked out…a lot…whether Bodi was touching him, taking a toy, handing him his sippy cup that he previously set down, or just walking by him. They did have some cute moments together, but for the most part, Owen tried to keep his distance. He was perfectly content to play by himself, while Bodi wanted whatever Owen was playing with. Needless to say there was a LOT of whining (mostly on Owen’s part) and we are seriously considering putting him in daycare for a few hours a week just so he gets more social interaction (since we no longer meet with my mom’s group) so he’s not as much of a crybaby. That said, I still think he did pretty well, considering this weekend was the first real one-on-one time he’s spent with another toddler. (He’s spent time with his six-month older cousin, but only for maybe a half day.)
We also learned that Owen isn’t quite the beastly eater we thought he was—Bodi blew him out of the water, so-to-speak. We know Owen doesn’t eat a great variety of foods, but he can make up for it in quantity. But Bodi, besides eating most anything (from what little we saw, he ate green beans, stuffing, black refried beans, oatmeal with apples, bananas, apples, nacho chips and salsa, and pizza)…eats a TON of everything. For dinner, we had pizza—something Owen loves so I thought he’d eat a lot. Well, he ate a piece plus some crackers. Bodi? Three pieces…plus a handful of carrots and dip and Owen’s leftover crackers and pizza. EEK! It’s impressive to watch.